The Marauders
by Meredith Thisdra
Summary: These are the days we'll remember for the rest of our lives... However long that may be. A look into the years of the four amazing friends, the girl, and the boy who got in the way.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay. So, I know that this has probably been done a MILLION times, but I'd still like to do it, because the Marauders are practically my all-time favorite characters ANYWHERE, which is really saying something. And, I've had this idea in my head for quite a while, so I want to do this in my version. So, here goes nothin'! **

**For easier reading purposes, the POV will usually center around one person, but I'll change that up because I like all the Marauders and this is a story about all of them, so it'll change, but only from chapter to chapter. The name next to the chapter will be the POV.  
**

Chapter 1 - James

"_Muuuuum..." _James moaned under his breath. Why did his mother have to be so _embarrassing_? All ready, people were staring and giggling under their breaths.

"All right, all right, James. I just want you to have a nice time there, is all," Mrs. Potter told her son, withdrawing her hand and looking worriedly down at her eleven year-old boy.

"I will, don't worry about it," James said, seemingly confidently. His father tried not to laugh as he saw through the facade. He knelt down to face his son and looked in his eyes.

"Now, just remember these things and you'll be fine: Don't mess with Peeves, don't dual with anyone until you know how, and if you end up in Slytherin, we'll disown you. But, hey! No pressure." He winked at his son, to show the last part was a joke. James didn't seem to comprehend that, though. He looked worriedly up at his mother.

Mrs. Potter took the Daily Prophet she had been holding and whacked her husband with it. Mr. Potter, a naturally good-humored man, simply laughed, and ruffled his son's black, untidy hair.

"Don't worry, James. You're going to do great at Hogwarts," he said, ruffling the boy's already-ruffled hair, looking down fondly. The worried face seemed to smooth out a little.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Who would _want _to be in Slytherin, anyway? Full of Dark Magic, isn't it, Dad?" James looked up at his father, the previous confidence starting to come back. His father, now conscious of everyone around him, looked over at a family who was staring at the three of them with horrible sneers on their faces, all except for their child, a boy with shaggy black hair, who was grinning at James.

He looked back at James and said, rather loudly, "Now, James, that isn't technically _always_ true." But he winked at his son, and James smiled, seeming to at least understand that particular wink.

"Well, dear, you'd best get on the train. It'll be leaving soon...." She looked at the steam starting to roll out of the train. She looked down at her son, tears starting to well up. "Be a good boy, won't you?"

"_Muuuuuuum...._" James muttered once again, but he smiled up at his mother in assurance, hugged his dad, and hopped aboard the train.

-----

"Stupid compartments...How many students does Hogwarts _have_ anyway? Isn't there an empty one _anywhere_?" James kept muttering to himself, passing compartment after compartment in a futile attempt to find one devoid of people.

Finally, he passed one where there were only two people, and they both looked like first years. He opened the compartment door. "Excuse me? Do you mind...?"

"Oh, uh, no. Go right ahead," said a boy with a remarkably scarred face. A chunk of his nose seemed to be missing as well. He looked over at the other person in the compartment, a girl with pretty auburn hair and bright green eyes, her face streaked with tears.

Before he could ask her what was wrong, though, he heard a disturbance as two other boys barreled their way down the train, looking for a compartment. "Oh, here, Peter! There's one over here! Only some first years in this one!" The boy with the shaggy hair James had seen earlier exclaimed. He was leading a rather short, squat, and blond-haired boy with a worried look on his face.

"Sirius, you...you don't have to shout you know! What if we get in trouble?" He nearly squeaked, casting furtive glances at all the compartments they passed, fearing someone might get angry at the verbose first year.

Sirius didn't seem to hear the pleadings, and simply strode right into the compartment James currently occupied, and took a seat next to the scarred boy. Peter shoved himself in and sat next to James, an apologetic look on his face. James grinned. He rather liked the pushy, confident, shaggy-haired boy.

Sirius turned his head to face the brown-haired, scarred-faced kid, as if to introduce himself, but stopped short as he took in the student's face. "Wicked scars, mate!" He said to the boy, grinning. He just stared, as if he didn't think anyone would even communicate with him. "I'm Sirius, by the way. Sirius Black," The boy seemed to almost force the last name out of his mouth, as if it was a bad word. James was instantly on alert. He knew that last name, and he didn't like it one bit.

"I-I'm, uh... Remus Lupin," the boy chocked out, still shell-shocked. Sirius turned to the girl, who had proceeded to stare out the window gloomily, tears still running down her face.

"Lily Evans," she whispered. Sirius stared for a second, wondering why she could be so depressed when they were finally going to Hogwarts, and then moved on to James. His eyes lit up with recognition.

"Hey, you're that boy with those cool parents!" Sirius said, wagging his finger at James. James grinned, despite himself. "Yeah, I'm James Potter," he told Sirius.

The boy sitting next to James finally piped in. "And I'm Peter Pettigrew," he told everyone, the little apologetic smile still on his lips.

"Oh, get a backbone will you, Peter? We're finally going to Hogwarts! No parents to have to worry about for _months!_" He seemed overly cheered at this prospect, whereas James was already starting to feel slightly homesick. He laughed as Sirius started cheering loudly, while Peter's eyes widened and he sunk lower in his seat, Remus just stared, his eyes resembling that of tea cup saucers, and Lily looked out the window, not seeming to notice.

Another first-year boy slid open the compartment door. His hair, black and greasy, was overlong, and he was extremely skinny and pallid-looking, as if he never went out into the sun. He searched the faces of the compartment, saw Lily, and then went and sat next to her, causing Remus to be pushed unceremoniously out of the way.

It was difficult to hear, with Sirius still cheering, but James listened closely. "I don't want to talk to you," Lily told the boy.

"Why not?" he replied, looking at her face greedily. James didn't like that look one bit. He started talking animatedly to Sirius about the wand he had gotten from Ollivander's, and Sirius lounged back on the seat, done with his cheering, and listened to him, adding in stories about his own wand here and there, with Peter looking back and forth from each of them, an admiring look on his face. But no matter how hard James tried to ignore them, their conversation kept reaching his ears.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore." Lily sobbed

"So what?" he heard the boy say with a contemptuous edge.

"So she's my sister!" Lily replied angrily.

"She's only a -" He cut himself off. James could only guess what he was going to say next, but he had a shrewd idea. _So she's a muggle-born_, he thought, listening to Sirius talk about his wand.

"But we're going! This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!" The boy continued, almost as joyful to be leaving as Sirius was. "You'd better be in Slytherin," the boy said, and James couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Slytherin? Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he asked Sirius.

"My whole family has been in Slytherin," he replied glumly.

James, who had already decided that Sirius was a nice enough guy and just added this in for the other boy's sake, said, "Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right!"

Sirius grinned, and then said, "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

James lifted an invisible sword. "'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad."

The boy made a disparaging noise. It was then that James really knew: He did not like this greasy boy at all.

He turned toward the boy, cold. "You got a problem with that?" He asked him. James detested the Dark Arts, while this boy seemed to revel in them.

"No," the boy said, though his sneer spoke much more than the actual words. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy -"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius interrupted, seeming to have the same immediate dislike for the student as James did, who roared with laughter.

Lily stood up, slightly flushed, and looked at the two boys in obvious dislike. "Come on, Severus. Let's find another compartment."

James looked at Sirius, who looked at him, grinning, and together, they said, "Ooooooo..." and then imitated her lofty voice. Lily left the compartment, and the boy, Severus, followed suit. James tried to trip him on the way out.

"See you, Snivellus!" Sirius called just before the door slammed. James, glad to be rid of the boy, slumped back in his seat and laughed at the fitting nickname.

"That's genius, mate!" James exclaimed, and high-fived Sirius.

"Thought it suited him, don't you?" Sirius said, going back to lounging in his seat. Peter looked even more admiringly at the two boys, while Remus, starting to get used to the verbose manners of the boys, looked down at his seat, a slight frown creasing his scarred face.

"Yeah, how could you _ever_ want to be in a House like _Slytherin_? Who could actually _want _to be like that?" James asked to no one in particular, moving over to occupy the empty space Lily's absence created.

"I dunno, mate, I dunno." Sirius replied.

**A/N: Ta-da! For most of this chapter, I basically just restated the first memory from The Prince's Tale chapter in Book 7. So if it sounds familiar, that's why. Thanks for reading, and please Review!! XD**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I will get better at this....Eventually. Hey, gimme a break, I'm a busy person!!! I'm trying.... Okay, now that my random "Sorry-I-haven't-freaking-updated" rant is over, without further ado, say hello to Chapter 2 in the Marauder's Saga!! (Cue dramatic music)**

**Disclaimer: ...... There would be too many spoilers involved in the creating of a funny disclaimer here. So I'm just gunna say: No. Sorry, but I'm not J.K Rowlings. But it'd be cool right? Heck, who wouldn't want to live in a castle and be richer than the Queen of England?**

Chapter 2- Sirius

At last... At last! He was away from them! Away from them all! No more dreaded cousins, whining brothers, and ugly-hearted parents to worry about! For once in his young life, he was finally _happy_. He couldn't stand staying at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place for even a second more. It was strange, too. After all of his family history, all of the darkness and evil, why was he so different? Sirius didn't know either. There was just something... captivating about the scarlet lion, bravery, and the chance to do something _right_ for a change, instead of taking the easy way out, like a coward. Or maybe it was because his parents were just bloody miserable to have around.

Just like that Snape person. He was glad that the grease-ball left. He didn't leave the house full of Dark Magic-lovers only to be confronted by more of the same people. Sirius yawned loudly and stretched, glad to be rid of the two other kids that left. The boy with the round glasses- James- grinned at him and looked out the window. The mouse-like boy- didn't he say his name was Peter?- kept looking around nervously, as if a Prefect were going to barge in and blow him to smithereens for breathing too hard at any moment.

"So," Sirius started, bored already, "Remus, you said your name was? You never answered my question." The ragged boy looked up at the sound of his name, looking slightly startled. "Uh... Me?"

"Yeah, you. You said your name was Remus, right?" Sirius asked, with a grin on his face. He felt slightly sorry for the boy. He looked like any sudden movement would soil his Muggle shorts.

"Oh, uh... Well, I got the scars from a, uh... a boating accident." Remus replied, mumbling and stammering so much the other three boys could barely understand the words.

"Oh blimey, that must of hurt..." Peter said, imagining what must have happened to get such scars. Sirius patted him on the back.

"Rotten luck, mate." Remus looked more shell-shocked then ever, and simply nodded. After a few minutes of silence, Sirius was so bored he was contemplating throwing himself out in the corridor and screaming, "DEMENTORS!", just to see what would happen. He yawned again, and decided to take a nap instead.

-/-\-/-\-/-\-

He felt quite rested when James shook him awake. "Best change into our robes now, guys. It sounds like we're almost there." The corridors were bustling with life as students ran around looking for friends and changing for school. Sirius smiled, the excitement of seeing Hogwarts for the first time almost too much to bear. _Just think... _this_ is where I'll be staying now. No more Grimmauld Place. At least, not for a while_, Sirius thought. All four of them changed, and then sat in the compartment, waiting nervously for the train to slow down, signaling the end of the ride. Sirius could barely sit still, but Remus looked like he was about to throw up. Peter kept randomly squeaking at odd intervals, and James couldn't stop grinning.

"This is it, mate!" Sirius exclaimed to James. James grinned even wider. Finally, Sirius couldn't hold it in and longer, and he got up and started hopping around the compartment, cheering again. James started laughing, and even Remus broke out into a little smile. Suddenly, the train lurched, and Sirius lost his balance, slamming into the compartment door and bursting it open. He began to start laughing again, when a cold, nasally voice brought him back to the reality of the train.

"Shut your mouth this instant, or the first night of your Hogwarts visit will be spent in detention," A teenager with platinum, long blond hair sneered at Sirius, his Prefect badge gleaming in the light of the train. Sirius looked up at him. "Lucius?"

The Prefect's eyes narrowed even more, and he bent down further. "Sirius? Just what do you think you're doing?" Lucius' sneer became even worse. Ever since he was a baby, Lucius had _hated_ Sirius, which suited him just fine. "It's called having _fun_, maybe you should try it sometime," Sirius retorted, giving Lucius a cold stare. Lucius' sneer, surprisingly, became worse. He grabbed Sirius by the front of the robe, heaved him up on his feet, shoved him back into the compartment, and then stormed off. James jumped up and caught Sirius before he slammed into the other side of the compartment. "Thanks, mate." Sirius grinned, brushing himself off. Hated or not, Lucius knew that if he did anything to Sirius, all he had to do was write to _dear_ mummy and daddy about how Lucius Malfoy had gave him a detention on his first night at Hogwarts. His parents would take care of the rest, and Lucius wouldn't see the light of the sun for the whole summer. It may have been cowardly, but that was the only reason Sirius said those things to Lucius. But hey, wasn't it just as cowardly to pick on the son of your family's best friend? So, by that reasoning, Sirius figured they were even.

"Who was that?" James looked outside the compartment, the doors still open.

"Oh, no one. Just a _dear_ family friend, Lucius Malfoy," Sirius said sarcastically. He sat down next to Remus again.

"The bloke's got it in for you, mate," James said, sitting back down as well. Another name James didn't like: Malfoy.

Sirius waved it off, got comfortable, and began talking to James about his favorite Quidditch teams, until the Hogwarts Express began to slow down and, finally, stop. "We're here! Yes!" Sirius cheered, pumping his fist in to the air. He high-fived James, who he was really starting to like, and rushed out of the compartment to get in line behind the other students trying to make their way off of the train.

"Firs' Years, this way! All Firs' Years!" Sirius heard over the chatter of the hundreds of students pouring out of the scarlet train. He looked up to see a monstrous man holding up a lantern, beckoning all of the newcomers to him. Gulping, Sirius walked over.

By the time they had gotten onto the boats, rowed across Black Lake, gotten their first glimpse of Hogwarts, and gotten their first lecture from Professor McGonagall, Sirius knew that, without a doubt, he was going to love it here. Until, that is, he walked into the Great Hall and saw the fabled Sorting Hat resting upon its stool. He never knew something so old and ruddy-looking could look so..._ intimidating_. All of his cousins teased him when he was younger about how he'd probably not even get Sorted, and that the Sorting Hat would tell the Headmaster that he wasn't even magical, and then he'd be thrown out of Hogwarts. He always told them to sod off, but still... What if it was true? Sirius gulped, his previous confidence gone.

Thankfully, every other first year looked just as nervous as he did. In fact, Remus looked a little green. Even James looked unsure. He took a deep breath, and waited until his name was called.

"Black, Sirius." The Professor called from her piece of parchment. Sirius' stomach dropped. Why did his last name have to start with a B? He took another deep breath, ignored the whispers of "Another Black? Dark Magic... Slytherin..." and waltzed up the the stool. He sat down, and McGonagall placed the Hat on his shaggy black head.

_Aaah. Another Black to add to the collection, hm? _Sirius heard a tiny voice say in the back of his head. He gulped, knowing where this was going to go. He sat there, feeling more miserable by the second, and waited for the Hat to say the detested name. _Or...perhaps not? You're made of different stuff, my boy... Definitely lots of courage, and I sense a hint of bravery... Hm... Yes, it seems there's no doubt about it. _

"GRYFFINDOR!" The Hat shouted to the Great Hall. Everyone sat slightly stunned for a couple seconds. Even Sirius couldn't believe what he heard. He heard the first of the clapping come from behind him. He turned around to see Headmaster Dumbledore with a small smile on his face. Then the Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's began to join in, and even some of the Gryffindor's applauded, although most of them were too stunned, or even slightly disgusted, to speak. None of the Slytherins even made a sound. McGonagall took the hat off of his head, and Sirius hopped from the stool, caught James' beaming face, and staggered to the Gryffindor table, still ignoring the whispers.

Then, the Sorting went on. Sirius couldn't believe it. Him...A _Black_... A Gryffindor! Oh, he couldn't wait to see the sheer looks of disgust on his parents' faces. The named kept being called out, and one by one the group of First Years got smaller and smaller. Sirius wasn't really paying attention, until he saw the girl who was with the greasy boy get called up.

"Evans, Lilly." If anything, Sirius had to give her props for confidence. She strode forward, a determined look in her green eyes. The Hat didn't sit for long, like it had Sirius. It must have been a few short seconds before the hat called, "GRYFFINDOR!". The Professor removed the Hat, and Lilly began to make her way to the table, giving _Snivellus_ an apologetic grin when she saw his dismayed face. Sirius moved over to give her space to sit, but she took one look at his face, set her jaw, and instead squeezed between two Third Years. Sirius rolled his eyes and focused back onto the Sorting.

Too soon, Sirius became bored again. There were so many _names_, how could they all stand it? He heard "Finoula, Marie" and "Gerard, Richard" and "Humphrey, Wallace" and "Ignerie, Samantha" and "Jenkins, Ella" and "Kalowsky, Katrina" and "Longbottom, Frank", as well as countless others, before someone he recognized _finally_ went up.

"Lupin, Remus." No one but Sirius seemed to notice the more intense, concentrated stare of Albus Dumbledore when Remus went to sit down on the stool and McGonagall placed the Hat on top of his head. The hat seemed to deliberate for about as long as it had when Sirius was up there, and Remus turned many different shades of pale while listening to the Hat's voice inside his head. _I wonder what it's saying to him?_ Sirius thought, before the Hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" and Remus walked over to the table and sat next to Sirius, who was grinning. At least that was one person he knew (Not counting the girl, of course.)

Sirius then waited again as the names kept being called. The group of First Years was diminishing quite quickly. The P's, at last, started getting called up, and then it was Peter's turn. The Sorting Hat also placed him in Gryffindor, although the roar was slightly less enthusiastic from the Hat than it had been with all of the other First Years. After Peter, it was James' turn, and the Hat was barely on his head for more than a second before the Hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" and the table erupted into applause again. Sirius gave him a high-five, and they grinned at each other. Sirius had a feeling they were going to have a lasting friendship.

"Snape, Severus." Sirius and James looked at each other, both with grimaces plain on their faces. The Hat's reaction was even faster than James. "SLYTHERIN!" The green and silver table erupted into cheers. Lilly's mouth set into a deep frown. And then, after even _more_ names, the Sorting was done. By that time, hopefully everyone had forgotten that a Black was now sitting at the Gryffindor table with a wide grin on his face.

**A/N: Ta-Da! I've wanted to write this scene for a while! And it's long, too. Coolness. Hopefully, I'll write another chapter next week... (Keeps Fingers Crossed) Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: The hell-atus is over! For now, anyways. So, here's the next chapter. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: You caught me. I'm really J.K Rowling in disguise. Don't tell anyone. But seriously, folks, I don't own any of it.**

Chapter 3- Lupin

He was still going over what the Sorting Hat said in his head. "_Quite the mind you've got there. And a terrible secret. There's courage, oh yes... But which one outweighs the other? That's a good question. Yes, it's definitely Gryffindor..."_

Even now, Remus Lupin still couldn't believe it. He allowed himself a smile, digging in to the feast that had magically appeared as the Sorting ended. Wait until his parents found out. They'd be really pleased. He ran a hand through his light brown hair tiredly, mulling over the phrase, _terrible secret_... Well, he obviously couldn't deny it. He _was_ a werewolf. Regardless of all his family's attempts at cures, it simply couldn't be fixed. But Remus had accepted that fact long ago. There was no sense in being let down every time his parents came rushing home, excited about the new potion they had discovered for that week. Truthfully, he felt a little guilty. No one enjoyed the company of a werewolf, and his parents had to pay for that. But there wasn't anything he could do. He sighed heavily and dug into his mashed potatoes.

"Something troubling you?" The boy- Sirius, if he recalled correctly- asked from his right. He was caught in the middle of eating another forkful of potatoes when he looked over and realized Sirius was talking to him. Somehow, he was never going to get used to that. People were actually _talking_ to him. It was... strange. But in a good way. People were always wary of him, because of his unwillingness to interact with people, or because of the scars he'd received from full moons. But Sirius seemed to think they were cool.

"Uhh... No, not really. I guess," he answered. Sirius frowned, like he knew he wasn't telling the truth, but seemed to think better of asking and went about filling his plate up with roast chicken. Remus continued to eat in silence while Sirius and the boy sitting on the other side of him- James, he remembered- talked animatedly about all sorts of wizarding experiences that Remus himself had never been able to enjoy, such as vacations all around the world, visiting Quidditch World Cup Tournaments, old wizard tombs, even visiting the all-magical village of Hogsmeade. Remus burned with jealousy. He hadn't even seen a regular Quidditch game before. His parents rarely took him on vacation trips.

"Ever heard of Zonko's?" Sirius asked James. Remus listened with interest.

"Best joke shop I've ever been too. It's the greatest! They have dungbombs and fake wizard chessmen that blow up, fireworks that follow people around, and everything!" James said excitedly.

"You're lucky; I've never been able to go." Sirius said glumly.

James spotted Remus staring at them, listening, and smiled. "You ever been to Zonko's, Remus?"

"I wish. It sounds pretty great." He replied, a little embarrassed that he'd been caught eavesdropping.

"I can't wait until third year when we can start going..." Sirius said dreamily. Remus had the feeling Sirius would like to get his hands on an exploding chessman a little _too_ much.

Suddenly, Remus started. Something had fallen into his lap. He looked down, and saw a letter. Wearily, he looked up toward the staff table. However, none of the teachers seemed to be paying attention. Clenching his teeth together, he broke the wax seal and read the parchment inside.

He sighed. It was a letter from Headmaster Dumbledore, telling him to go to Dumbledore's office after the feast. The password (Bertie Botts) and directions were also mentioned.

"What's that you got?" James asked curiously. Remus folded up the parchment quickly and looked up at Dumbledore. He was now looking pointedly at Remus, with a strange look that seemed to say 'Keep that letter a secret'.

" Oh, it's from the Headmaster. Apparently, er... some of my luggage got lost. I need to go to his office after the feast to sort it out."

"Aw, rotten luck." James replied, looking at Remus sympathetically.

"We'll see you when you get back though, right?" Sirius asked, looking hopeful.

For a second, he didn't know what to say. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, sure."

Remus glanced at the directions again. He hadn't taken a wrong turn, had he? He looked up the corridor, but there wasn't any left turn that he could see. He felt along the wall, re-reading the directions for the hundredth time.

"Lost, dear?" A portrait of several kindly older women asked. They were all drinking tea and looking very amused at him. Moving portraits never bothered Remus, but them talking to him was strange enough. He supposed all the family portraits at home had long since tired of talking to his family, as he had never heard them speak.

"Just a bit." He admitted, ruefully.

"Where you headed? We'll point you in the right direction."

"Well, I was supposed to be heading for the Headmaster's office, but -" He started, but they cut him off.

"Oh, well you just go through the tapestry, and it'll be right there!" All the women pointed further down the corridor to an elaborate wall hanging with the four House Crests embroidered onto it. He nodded a thanks to the women, who all raised their little tea cups at him, and walked up to the tapestry.

"Now, how in the world...?" He asked himself. He lifted the tapestry up, and sure enough, a large hole led straight into another hallway. He'd found a shortcut. Strangely thrilled (What others could he find?), he crawled through the hole and walked down the passage until he found the gargoyle statue described in the letter.

Password, password... How did that work? "Bertie Botts?" He said aloud, sounding more like it was a question.

He felt rather foolish, talking to a statue, but startlingly, it sprung aside to reveal a staircase that was slowly winding it's way up. He stepped onto it gingerly, and waited.

It was a rather long process, but eventually the staircase did reach the top. Remus stared at the ornate door, took in a quick and calming breath, and then knocked on the door.

"Enter." Dumbledore's soft voice carried through the door.

He stepped nervously into the room, suddenly very self-concious. What did Dumbledore want to discuss? He wasn't going to change his mind about letting him attend school, was he! He barely even noticed the glorious, flaming red Pheonix sitting on its perch, or the numerous strange little instruments strewn about the room. He did, however, manage to appreciate the plethora of books behind the Headmaster's desk and the hundreds of portraits of past Hogwarts Headmasters, before finally taking a seat in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"Good day, Remus. Did you enjoy the feast?" The Headmaster asked pleasantly.

"Yes, Professor." He responded, his stomach in knots. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea that he had that last slice of pumpkin pie...

"Excellent. Well, my dear boy, I won't keep you for very long. But there is some business to attend to." Dumbledore said.

_Here it goes_... He thought miserably.

"A Whomping Willow will be planted on the grounds for your particular use as soon as the Herbology Professor can manage it. There is a secret passageway hidden under the tree that leads to an old, run-down house in Hogsmeade that will be yours for your monthly 'activities', I'll choose to call them." He smiled wryly at Remus. "Madame Pomfrey, our school nurse, will escort you there on the full moon, as a safety precaution. The Willow will be slightly, ah, _dangerous_, however. But there are defenses against them."

"The knot at the base of the tree, right? Just poke it with a long stick or something and it'll disable the tree." Remus blurted out.

Dumbledore beamed. "I see you've been reading your books. Yes, that is precisely correct. One last thing..." Dumbledore grew serious again. "I can't make you understand how _crucial_ it is that you keep this a secret. All of the teachers have already been briefed, but if a student caught word of what was going on, the whole secret would spread like wildfire. Parents would not appreciate my decision to let you learn at the school, unfortunately. And that is a business I would most like to avoid." Dumbledore finished, his eyes twinkling.

"I won't let anyone know, Professor," Remus thought, thinking of his two new friends waiting for him in the common room. "I promise..."

**A/N: Bam! I thought it turned out pretty long, but it doesn't seem that way now... Curse you, book inaccuracies! Gah! I'm constantly looking back and forth through all the books, making sure I'm getting all the facts straight. It's tough business, I tell you. Please review! Those make me happy. And, on a final note: In case anyone was looking forward to it, I don't think I'll be writing in Pettigrew's POV. That'll just make me angry at the stupid rat, and my writing would become biased, and then bad things. So yeah. Maybe one or two chapters, but no immediate plans. Thanks for reading!**


End file.
